Back in August 2014 I wrote about Micklethwaites in the Bahamas. More information has come to light and it now appears that there were 2 families: Richard and Henrietta; Christopher and Jane. Confusingly, both had a son called Richard. Christopher’s Richard was a master mariner, and the families were involved with a vessel called “Penistone”. I suspect, but as yet I have no solid evidence, that Richard and Christopher were brothers, and were sons of Richard Micklethwaite of Water Hall, Penistone, Yorkshire, who married Elizabeth Feyram (or similar) in Roystone, Yorkshire in 1712. To add to the intrigue, I have nothing to show how Richard of Water Hall fits into the wider picture of Yorkshire Micklethwait(e)s. The Loyalist position is also unclear as the families were in the Bahamas before American independence, so why are some of these Micklethwaites listed in the Loyalist Land Grants?
As I mentioned in that previous blog, descendants of the slaves who used to work for the Micklethwaites still live on the islands, and some have moved to Florida, although I have not yet identified the first one who emigrated to Florida. I have tried to work out the families in the Bahamas with little success. It is difficult when you are several thousand miles and a century and a half away. Additionally, the records do not seem complete, and lack much of the useful detail that appears on English records, such as a new-born child’s forename! Micklewhite is spelled Mcklewhite in many cases.
I have created a web page with more details about these families.
bahamas.htm
Andy Micklethwaite's Family History Blog 